Design for Armstrong sundial, National Trust, Cragside
Design for Armstrong sundial, National Trust, Cragside

This design was commissioned by the National Trust to mark the retirement of long-serving head gardener Andrew Sawyer.

I did the calculations in Excel and had them checked by expert dialler Tony Moss. I used Illustrator for the 'delineation'. The style of Lord Armstrong's capital A, and the little flower motif attached to each half-hour line, were taken from engraved cutlery preserved at Cragside.

The Latin means 'Strength in Arms, Strength in Horticulture'

This design was used to prepare a photographic resist for the etching process, the lines bitten in deep for durability, and the whole given a light brown patination before a coating of wax, to postpone oxidation.

Design for Armstrong sundial, National Trust, Cragside

This design was commissioned by the National Trust to mark the retirement of long-serving head gardener Andrew Sawyer.

I did the calculations in Excel and had them checked by expert dialler Tony Moss. I used Illustrator for the 'delineation'. The style of Lord Armstrong's capital A, and the little flower motif attached to each half-hour line, were taken from engraved cutlery preserved at Cragside.

The Latin means 'Strength in Arms, Strength in Horticulture'

This design was used to prepare a photographic resist for the etching process, the lines bitten in deep for durability, and the whole given a light brown patination before a coating of wax, to postpone oxidation.